Reed – star of Gladiator and Women In Love – was a client of PR guru Clifford in the late 1970s.

An alleged victim, then a 19-year-old working for a recruitment agency, said the story emerged as she was discussing filling a personal assistant job with Clifford.

She was in his office and Clifford started talking about his clients and said Oliver Reed’s sexual preferences were ‘problematic’, London’s Southwark crown court heard.

The woman said: ‘He said that some of his clients, and specifically named Oliver Reed, had sexual preferences and he explained that Oliver Reed liked young girls.

‘And that, as a publicist, this was problematic for him and it would be part of the role I was there for, to protect the clients. He just said they had different sexual preferences and I remember him specifically saying about Oliver Reed, that he liked young girls.’

She said it became clear Clifford was interviewing her for the role.

Afterwards, he hailed a taxi and, despite her wanting to go to Victoria, he directed the driver to London Bridge, saying he had to collect something from a flat.

‘On the journey, he started trying to kiss me,’ she said. ‘He kind of launched himself at me actually, and started trying to kiss me on the mouth which I said no to.

‘I tried to push him off and hold him off.’

The court heard Clifford verbally abused her when she rejected him. The witness denied defence claims she had invented the attack.

Clifford, 70, from Hersham in Surrey, denies 11 counts of indecent assault against seven women and girls. The trial continues.